Package and method of making same



Oct. 29, 1935. M. J. MILMOE PACKAGE AND METHOD OF MAKING S AME FiledJuly 11, 1933 INVENTOR.

By a Y 7 7m,

" ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 29, 1935 UNITED- STATES PACKAGE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAMEMichael J. Mllmoe, Glen Ellyn, 111., assignor to "373v a F. B. Bedington60., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application July 11, 1933,Serial No. 679,878

13 Claims. (Cl. 229-51) The present invention has for an object, themakingof a novel package which is impervious to moisture and whichis-provided with means for readily opening thesame so-that one can getat the contents thereof.

Another object of this invention is to provide a very simple method formaking a wrapper of the class described. 7

A still furtherfobject ofthisinvention is to provide a double wrapperfor an article or group of articles with means for readily 1 openingboth wrappers by a single niovenientlof the opening means, the openingmeansbeingi associated-with the package itself.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for opening apackage which is sealed, at one end only to permit access to thecontents of the package so that portions of the contents may be removedwithout removing other portions thereof or destroying the wrapper aboutthe portions which are not removed.

Other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter as thedescription thereof proceeds, the novel features, arrangements, andcombinations being clearly set forth in the appended claims:

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view showing the first step in the formation of apackage;

Figs. 2 and 3 are similar views of subsequent steps in the formation ofthe package;

Figs. 4 and 5 are end elevations of the package in a further stage offormation;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the package with only the first wrapper inplace and fully completed;

Fig. 7 is a side elevational view of the package shown in Fig. 6 with anadditional wrapper about the same shown in cross-section; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the package with parts thereof brokenaway for the sake of clearness.

The package constructed according to this invention comprises a group ofarticles wrapped in waxed paper and heat-sealed, and an additional layerof foil about the first layer with means for opening the wrapper at oneend of the package so as to make the contenisthereof readily accessible.In Fig. 1 I have illustrated a sheet of waxed paper at It] with a groupof articles II which in the present instance are cylindrlcally shapedpieces of candy of a rather well known type. Such candy must beprotected from moisture in order to preserve the candy in the desiredstate. The formation of the package is illustrated rather schematicallyand particular apparatus for form- 5 ing the package is not disclosedherein, but the essential steps will be described.

on the surface of the waxed sheet In upon which the candy I I is placed,I lay a ribbon-like band I2 of fabric or any suitable means which willnot 10 break under th. required tension to open the package andpreferably, although not necessarily, apply heat to cause the band toadhere to the surface of the sheet I0 at about the angle illustrated inFig. 1 with respect to one edge of the wrapper. 15 I then take the endI3 of the wrapper and wrap this about the articles together with theband I2 by bringing the and I3 over the articles and then rolling thearticles and sheet until the entire sheet is wrapped about thecylindrical surface pre- 20 sented by the group of articles I I as isclearly illustrated in Fig. 2. This leaves cylindrical portions of thewrapper projecting beyond the ends of the groups of articles and I nextproceed to fold these projecting cylindrical portions. Since the band 25I2 projects beyond one edge I I of the sheet l0 when laid thereon, it isobvious that a portion of this band I5 will protrude beyond thecylindrical portion of the wrapper which projects beyond the end of thegroup of articles so that if the cylin- 3o drical portion is folded,over the end-most one of the articles to seal the package, the and I5 ofthe band will protrude therefrom making the same accessible to onedesiring to open the package.

The next operation is to fold the cylindrical 35 portion inwardlyagainst the end-most article adjacent that portion. This is done bysuccessive steps. The first step is illustrated in Fig. 3 and comprisesmoving a portion I6 inwardly against the end-most article I1, the bandI! being carried) along therewith. The next step is .to fold theportions, I8 adjacent the portion I6 against the end of the article I!as illustrated in Fig. 4. I next fold the portion I9 diametricallyopposed to portion I6 over the end of the article and finally 45 foldthe portions 20 intermediate the portions l9 and I8 against the articleto completely fold the projecting portion of the wrapper against the endof the article II with the end I5 of the band extending in a positionsuch as that illustrated in H0 Fig. 6.

As can be readily seen in Fig. 3, portions of the band I5 lie betweenadjacent layers of the waxed sheet III which extends beyond the group ofarticles and therefore when the successive folds IS, an

l8, l9, and 20' are made, the hand I! is so arranged that upon exertinga pull on the projecting end l5 thereof, the folds are caused to unfold.The folds are heat-sealed together either as they are formed or afterall of the folds have been formed. The heating of the folds causes thewax of the paper to run together and hold the folds accordingly togetherwhen the heating means is removed and the wax has had a chance tosolidify.

I next take the package illustrated in Fig. 6 and wrap the same in anadditional layer of wrapping material such as tin foil in substantiallythe same manner with the result that projecting end l5 of the band inFig. 6 which extends beyond the side of the package in that figure ismoved inwardly due to the folding operation to such a position that itdoes not project beyond the sides of the article. This is accomplishedby first moving the portion 2| of the foil wrapper 22 toward theprotruding end I 5 of the band and then against the end of the package,with the last or a subsequent fold 23 moved against the projecting endl5 of the band to cause the band to assume the shape illustrated clearlyin Fig. 7 with, a portion thereof still projecting in an accessibleposition outside of the package but not beyond the sides of the packageas it does in Fig. 6.

The completed package is shown in Fig. 8 with the projecting end l5 ofthe band lying flatly against the end of the package but not beyond thesides of the package. This enables the package to be more readilyhandled and does not detract from the neat appearance thereof. Also inpackages of this nature, it is common to apply a label preferably aboutthe article and it is easier to do this if the projecting end I5 doesnot extend beyond the sides of the article but lies wholly within theouter circumference thereof.

Also it is apparent that those skilled in the art to which thisinvention pertains may make various changes in the particularconstruction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spiritof this invention, and therefore I do not wish to be limited except ashereinafter set forth in the appended claims.

In order to open the package, it is only necessary to grasp the end l5of the band and exert a pull thereon. This causes the successive foldsof foil to first open up and then subsequently the folds l6, l8, l9, and20. Since the band is interposed between adjacent folds and winds in andout amongst the folds and adjacent layers of the waxed paper, it isobvious that the pull exerted on the band l2 will result in breaking theseal between adjacent folds and cause the opening of the end of thepackage after which the articles therein may be readily removed.

The advantage of using this arrangement is that the package may bequickly opened without one laboriously trying to separate the folds byprying underneath the folds with the finger nail or the like. Trying toopen such a package by the use of a finger nail or similar instrument isnot a very easy operation for the reason that the wax holds the foldsquite close together and furthermore tends to run and conceal the edgesof the folds. Also it is not always apparent just which is the last foldto be made and if one tries to pry open the first fold or any fold lessthan the last fold, it is more difilcult to open the package.

Obviously if one wished to provide opening means at both ends instead ofat one end of the package, this could be done without in any waychanging the inventive concept, as it would amount to a. mereduplication, but it is usually only necessary to open one end of thepackage.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto obtain by Letters Patent is: 6

1. A package comprising an article, and a wrapper arranged there-abouthaving a series of pleated radially arranged folds and a band twiningback and forth within said folds whereby when extension is exerted onsaid band, the folds 10 are caused to separate and become unfolded.

2. A package comprising a group of articles, a waxed. wrapper arrangedabout said articles with portions thereof folded upon each other inradial arrangement with a continuous element arranged 15 within andamongst said folds in intimate contact therewith, the folds beingheat-sealed together to provide a wrapper for said articles which isimpervious to moisture.

3. A package comprising a group of articles ar- 20 ranged in end to endrelation with a waxed wrapper arranged peripherally about the group ofarticles and sealed by folding portions of the wrapper in radiallyarranged folds against the end-most ones of the group of articles with aflexible open- 25 ing element arranged within and amongst the folds forbreaking the seal between the folds when tension is exerted thereon.

4. The method. of wrapping articles which comprises the steps ofsuperimposing a flexible ele- 30 ment on a sheet of wrapping materialadjacent one edge thereof at a slight inclination thereto with a portionof said flexible element extending beyond one edge of said wrapper,forming said wrapper into a tubular container about the con- 35 tents ofsaid package with the edge of said wrapper which lies adjacent saidflexible element at one end of said tubular wrapper, folding theportions of said edge inwardly toward the contents of said package toform a plurality of overlapping folds, and sealing said overlappingfolds with a portion of the flexible element protruding from one of saidfolds in an accessible position.

5. A method of wrapping which comprises the steps of superimposing aflexible package opening 4:; element on a sheet of wrapping materialclosely adjacent one edge thereo at a. slight inclination thereto with aportion of said flexible element protruding beyond the said edge,shaping said wrapper into a tubular container with the axis of said 50tubular container substantially at right angles to said edge, wherebythe protruding end of said flexible element extends beyond one end ofsaid tubular container, and folding that end of said tubular containerfrom which said end of said 5 flexible element extends to produce aseries of .overlapping folds with said flexible element arranged amongstsaid folds, the said end projecting outside said container in anaccessible position.

5. A method of wrapping which comprises the 60 steps of superimposing aflexible package opening element on a sheet of wrapping material closelyadjacent one edge thereof at a slight inclination thereto with a portionof said flexible element protruding beyond the said edge, shaping saidwrapper into a tubular con ainer with the axis of said tubular containersubstantially at right angles to said edge, whereby the protruding endof said flexible element extends beyond one end of said tubularcontainer, folding 70 that end of said tubular container from whi h saidend of said flexible element extends to produce a series of overlappingfolds with said flexible element arranged amongst said folds pro- 7jecting outside said container in an accessible position, andheat-sealing the folds together.

7. A method of wrapping which comprises the steps of superimposing aflexible package opening element on a sheet of wrapping material closelyadjacent one edge thereof at a slight inclination thereto with a portionof said flexible element protruding beyond the said edge, afllxing saidflexible element to said wrapper against shifting movement with respectthereto, shaping said wrapper into a tubular container with the axis ofsaid tubular container substantially at right angles to said edge,whereby the protruding 'end of said flexible element extends beyond oneend of said tubular container, and folding'that end of said tubularcontainer from which said end of said flexible element extends toproduce a series of overlapping folds with said flexible elementarranged amongst said folds, the said end projecting outside saidcontainer in an accessible position.

8. The method of making a package as set forth in claim which comprisesthe additional step of wrapping the package formed as in claim 5 with anadditional sheet of wrapping material formed into a tubular containerand sealed at its end by overlapping folds with a portion of saidflexible element protruding from one ofmsaid folds.

9. A package comprising a wrapper arranged about an article and having aplurality of overlying folded portions, each folded portion consistingof a plurality of wrapper material layers, and an opening elementarranged between the said wrapper layers with one part exposed wh bywhen tension is applied to the exposed part the folded portions of thewrapper are unfolded as units without the tearing of the wrappermaterial.

10. A package comprising a wrapper arranged about an article and havinga plurality of radially arranged overlying folded portions, each foldedportion consisting of a plurality of wrapper material layers, and anopening element arranged 5 between the said wrapper layers with one partexposed.

11. The method of making a package which comprises arranging a wrapperperipherally about the body of an article with an end portion extendingbeyond the article body, arranging an opening element peripherally alongthe wrapper and diagonally to a side thereof adjacent said end portion,folding over the wrapper end against the article into a plurality ofoverlying folds, arranging parts of said opening element among thefolds, and exposing another part of said opening element on the outsideof the wrapper.

12. The method of making a package which comprises arranging a sheetperipherally about the body of an article with an end portion extendingbeyond the article body, arranging an opening element diagonally andperipherally along the sheet adjacent said end portion to form a tubularwrapper, folding over the wrapper end against the article into aplurality of radially arranged overlying folds, arranging parts of saidopening element among the folds, and exposing another part of saidopening element on the outside of the wrapper.

13. A package comprising a wrapper wrapped about an article and having aplurality of folds, an element arranged within the package and entwinedbetween a plurality of folds, said element having a part thereofextending outside of the wrapper, whereby the folds may be released uponpulling the element.

MICHAEL J. MILMOE.

